1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wheeled carts for carrying a load and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to two-wheeled carts and methods of use for enabling one person to move a small water craft along a support surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various other wheeled carts and two-wheeled supports, some for transporting small water craft, have been disclosed in the following patents known to me.
A patent to Sitton, U.S. Pat. No. 2,426,244, discloses a two-wheeled dolly, comprising a rectangular frame composed of two pairs of angle bars, a central beam secured between one such pair of angle bars, and two U-shaped wheel brackets carrying two wheels and connected to each other by a brace bar. Brace bars form a triangular structure at each end of the frame and connect the lower ends of the brackets to the angle bars. An extension or platform extends from the central beam to a depressed portion of one of the angle bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 900,455 to Weir discloses the use of a pair of parallel, oppositely arranged trusses, having upper bars and downwardly converging truss-bars, as the sides of the body-frame of a cart. Central king-posts are also provided as part of the trusses. All of these bars can, if desired, be made of suitable piping. These trusses are connected at their ends by cross-bars. An axle on which the two wheels of the cart are mounted is disposed through central openings in the king-posts, with bearing blocks provided for bearing upon the under side of the axle and being held in place by keys inserted through openings in the king-posts.
U.S. Pat. No. 528,939 to Grabill also discloses a two-wheeled cart having side bars or beams rigidly connected at their lower sides to an axle which has two wheels mounted on its ends. The side beams are provided with seats or pockets at their ends for receiving removable end beams of varying length. Eyes or staples which are rigidly secured to each of the end beams are also disclosed as suited for the connection of detachable tongues to the cart. Spurs adapted to be disposed in threaded openings in the end beams are disclosed for holding the load of the cart and preventing it from slipping.
Related devices disclosed in prior patents which specifically contemplate use in connection with boats or small water craft include those found in the patents to U.S. Pat. Nos. to Woodruff, 1,376,496; Seiter, 1,939,863; Harvey, 2,042,598; Livermon, 2,115,864; Engnell, 2,966,368; Boston, 2,970,846, and Johnson, 2,818,268. Several of these devices are disclosed as supporting the small water craft at least in part by connection with the gunwales of the craft or with other points near the upper edge of the sides of the craft, as in the patents to Woodruff, Seiter, and Harvey, with the patent to Harvey additionally disclosing the use of a strap passed underneath the boat to provide additional support for the boat The patent to Livermon provides that the axle for a wheel, and other portions of the device in Livermon are disposed in a part of the water craft itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,846 to Boston discloses a foldable boat carrier having a frame of generally rectangular shape and supported by a pair of wheels Extending longitudinally across the frame are two pairs of supporting arms with a rubber tube covering a portion of each arm. Each supporting arm is connected at one end to one end of the frame at a side thereof by a vertical brace and at the other end to one end of a transversely extending brace. Tie-downs are also disclosed for connecting to the boat and to the ends of the frame. It is an object of the carrier disclosed in Boston to enable one person to transport the boat either to or from the water by holding onto either end of the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,966,368 to Engnell discloses a two-wheeled trailer having a bracket equipped with bearings to support an axle connecting the two wheels. Attached to the bracket adjacent either end, by a plurality of holes and bolts, are two pairs of inwardly inclined pivoted arms, each pair being connected to a clamping bar which is adapted for extending along the keel of a boat and for clamping down on the keel in response to the weight of the boat. Auxiliary support bars, with inwardly inclined upper ends and vertical slots in their lower portions for vertical adjustments of the bars, are disposed adjacent each end of the bracket, outward of the pairs of pivoted arms. These auxiliary support bars, however, are not used to normally support the boat, but to keep the boat from swaying when pulled over rough or broken ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,268 to Johnson discloses another folding boat trailer for supporting a boat on rests to which the bottom of the boat is drawn tightly and which extend parallel to the wheels of the trailer. The trailer is secured to the boat by clamps at the extremities of a pair of folding arms pivotally connected to a central body of the trailer, which clamps are attached to the gunwales of the boat.
None of the above patents, however, discloses a cart including a shelf below a support structure of the cart which is to engage the water craft or other load to be supported. None of the above patents discloses a cart including a handle detachably connected to both a lower bracing member and an upper bracing member of the support structure of the cart. Nor do any of the above disclosures suggest a cart including a box nested in the support structure. These features would enable the user of such a cart to carry a wider range of items with greater convenience than would be possible with devices not employing such features.
Other needs include the need for such a cart to enable one person to move a small water craft (i.e., one which has an end that one person can lift on land, such as a canoe) along a support surface with relative ease, and the need for such a cart to be of simple design and manufacture. There is a need also for a cart which meets the above needs and which is suitable for being stored conveniently, as in the water craft itself, when not in use and when the detachable handle is detached.